Page 1 of 1

id common blue female?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 6:34 pm
by kennyb
how do you tell if its a common blue female or brown angus ?

Re: id common blue female?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 7:17 pm
by ChrisC
brown argus for me.apart from the general aggressive stance, there is normally white in the orange lunules on the hind wing of com. bl..

Re: id common blue female?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 7:45 pm
by David M
There's SUCH a complete absence of blue that this surely has to be a Brown Argus.

Re: id common blue female?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 8:16 pm
by Neil Hulme
Hi kennyb,

The abdomen is long and thin, reaching to the rear margin of the hind wings - hence it's a male butterfly. As the wings are brown it must therefore be a Brown Argus. If you look closely you will see a hint of blue over the thorax. This is caused by fine blue hairs over the body parts, which can be quite noticeable in males of the species. This sometimes leads to confusion, leading some observers to insist it must therefore be a Common Blue. The Brown Argus does, however, lack any blue SCALES on the wings.

BWs, Neil

Re: id common blue female?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 9:06 pm
by kennyb
Cheers for the help